Help! Is it a pitbull ???!!! New puppy

I recntly got a new puppy she is 9 weeks old and I broke all the rules and didn't see the parents (this would probably not have helped as I'm no expert on bull breeds anyway) was told she is a staffie, but people are telling me she isn't and that she is crossed with anything between a ridgeback and a pitbull ?!?! I'm pooing myslef I have 3 young boys and without being predujce don't want their faces ripped off !! She is a all brown or fawn with no white marking and a dark brown spot on her tail. She is very friendly but does have a slight stance and you can clearly see her ribs ??? Please help !!!

Her breed will have far less to do with her behaviour than her upbringing and training. If you want her to respect you and your children, you need to take responsibility for that by using firm, kind, consistent training.

Thanks guys will try and get a pic up, people who think they know dogs I guess not professionals. Vet said is cross but may be many things ?? Went back to lady I bought her from and she said she will get more info for me as he was selling her for someone else, friend of her husband argh !! She just looked so cute in the pic ! And she is the most loving pup and so far very well behaved ! Didn't even mind the vet !

It is my understanding that a pit bull is not an actual breed but a cross of several. Unfortunately with the DDA and BSL, all it takes is a dog warden or police officer with a tape measure to declare the dog is 'of type' and seize it!

I am a foster mum for a dog rescue in Canada. Last year I was asked to take in a "Boxer cross" which I agreed to, when he arrived I had alarm bells go off (we have BSL here too). I had to get him DNA tested and yup, he couldn't be any more "pit bull" (which is not an actual breed BTW).

There is BSL in our province which makes it illegal for me to own him but I am able to foster him as long as he is adopted outside of the province. Not sure what the law is there but here it means he has to be muzzled every time we leave the house and he can never be off-lead. I can take him to training classes though.

There is no need to be afraid, as others have said it has more to do with upbringing than breed - make sure you put the time and effort in to train her and if you have BSL make sure you know the law and its requirements. I was reading something the other day about the history of pit bulls and while they were bred for dog fighting, any dog that showed human aggression was euthanized so the tendency to be aggressive towards humans was actually bred out of this breed.

I will also say that things are not always as they seem! There was another dog in the rescue group I work with, similar situation where he looked like a Staffie so was on the banned list and only up for adoption outside of the province. The foster mum got him DNA tested and he had no Staffie in him at all, just looked like it. She adopted him.

From what I've read of DNA tests are fairly useless in respect of identifying breed, the ones that test parentage against individual dogs are fine but breeds of dog don't have massively different DNA, especially with related breeds like staffs and pits.

It's not very likely in the UK that you've got a pit bull cross, not impossible - but the odds are against it. Some people do breed staffies to look a bit more like them and crossed with something bigger they quite often look a bit like one.

Even if she is... They're not massively different in temperament to staffies anyway, she's still the same puppy no matter what other people think her heritage might be.

If you go to the police stating that you think she might be a pit bull or pit bull cross, you may be told she's not, they may seize her while they decide and if they decide she is they'll either register her and you'll have to tattoo her, neuter her and keep her on a lead and muzzled when out of the house or they'll destroy her. Deciding whether she is a pit bull has nothing to do with parentage or temperament - it's done purely on measurements.

Like I said, I doubt very much she is - I'd just ignore them to be honest, carry on enjoying your loving cute puppy.

Thank you tubalharassa ! I have posted some pics on my profile of her now, it doesn't give a clear picture of her stance tho. Hopefully we will get it right with her training and shell be an amazing dog whatever. I know it's bad minded to think she will bite but people will judge her I'm sure

I'm not an expert on these things (and I'm sure someone else will have better advice) but she looks like a staffy x to me. Don't read anything into her stance - my dog stands like that, and is also very barrel chested, but he is most definitely not a pit bull.

She is adorable I google imaged pitbull puppies and she really doesn't look like the images. I would take her to training classes get her started soon so she is properly trained, we were also told not to use a harness on our staff as that encourages aggression when they are pulling against it making them stronger, or something like that, we use a slip lead or a gencon.